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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. scale — in music
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. kick — in football
  14. plane — a tool
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. march — the month
  19. scale — size or range
  20. perch — the fish
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. march — the month
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com